If health-related reasons weren’t already keeping former Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Malik McDowell from playing football, his growing list of legal problems would probably be enough to keep him off an NFL roster.
According to Mike Martindale of the Detroit News, McDowell is facing charges of assault and resisting arrest, operating a vehicle while intoxicated, and receiving and concealing stolen property from a pair of incidents in recent months. McDowell is set to appear in Oakland County Circuit Court on Thursday.
Citing police reports, McDowell was stopped in February on suspicion of drunken driving. McDowell demanded to speak to a supervisor and was told one was not available. He then exited the vehicle and entered a nearby gas station when the cop confronted McDowell again and an altercation took place. McDowell subdued the officer despite being tasered until a second officer arrived and managed to arrest him.
In April, a stolen truck’s GPS unit was traced to a closed garage at McDowell’s residence. McDowell claimed he had purchased the $74,000 Ford F-150 Raptor pickup for $3,000 off the street. The truck is one of several to be stolen from a Ford Motor Company overflow lot in Dearborn.
McDowell was a second round pick of the Seahawks in 2017 but never appeared in a single game for the team. McDowell sustained significant injuries, including a serious concussion, in an ATV accident prior to the start of training camp that fall and never practiced again with the team. He was released by Seattle in March and is being sued by the team for repayment of his signing bonus.
McDowell’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said McDowell has been cleared to return to football. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll made it clear that their doctors could not clear him to play again following the accident. He made one free agent visit with the Dallas Cowboys after his release, but was not signed.
McDowell was also arrested in Atlanta in 2017 for disorderly conduct following an incident at a bar.